It is often the case that a host computer is located physically distant from its operator. Some products have been created to facilitate remote control of a computer using devices that remotely project the keyboard, video and mouse. These are typically called keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) devices. For example, a KVM Switch enables a single keyboard, mouse and video display to be shared by multiple computers. A KVM device enables a keyboard, mouse and video display to be viewed remotely, with typically several hundred feet of separation. Remote Control Software enables a computer to “take over” a remote computer and use the local machine to provide keyboard and mouse input, and video output over a network. Additionally, there are specialized hardware components that interact with proprietary software to provide remote KVM functionality over a network.
Each of these approaches has disadvantages. More specifically, remote KVM systems generally employ relative movements of the mouse to keep the mouse in sync (e.g., move 5 pixels left from where you are). The use of the relative movements is common because real physical mice use relative movements. Since computer operating systems (OS's) are sometimes busy with other tasks, the mouse movement messages may be lost or skipped. Therefore, if a virtual pointer is maintained in a remote KVM system, it may no longer be in sync with the originating system. Both PS/2 and USB mice send these same relative movements messages. Consequently, it is desirable to implement a mouse synchronization system for use with a remote KVM system that can synchronize mouse movements based on an absolute position.